Hubble photographs a stunning “mirror galaxy” 6.9 billion light years away from Earth.
According to a news release from the European Space Agency, gravitational lensing enabled the Hubble Space Telescope to take a stunning "mirror image" of a galaxy.
The image captured above looks to be of two galaxies that are linked to one another. There is only one, and its name is SGAS J143845+145407.
The light from a distant galaxy cluster, which is reaching us from two separate sides, is visible while we observe the magnified galaxy.
Hubble photographs a far-off "mirror galaxy"
Astronomers can see far further into the distant galaxy thanks to gravitational lensing. This is caused by a peculiarity of gravity that warps light flowing through the gravitational field of a large object, such as a galaxy cluster. The term "lensed" refers to the gravitational distortion of an object...